Houston Dynamo Youth Development System
2009 College Combine
January 24-25, 2009

presented by:
	The Dynamo Academy won the 2008 Dallas Cup U-19 title. (Doug Fejer)

The Houston Dynamo Youth Development System, presented by StatoilHydro, will host a college combine January 24-25, 2009, to allow college coaches to be exposed to the best soccer talent in South Texas. Dynamo Academy teams are made up of the best players in the Houston area. They include young men ages 12-18 that are trained at a professional level. Players from the Dynamo South Texas Academy will also participate in the event. The DSTA is based in the Rio Grande Valley and includes 70 of the best players from Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen, and Laredo. The combine offers the opportunity for college coaches to view Dynamo Academy players in a very competitive setting. The combine will consist of six total games featuring Dynamo Academy players, offering coaches the chance to evaluate players in a competitive game setting.

Dynamo Academy and SMU midfielder Josue Soto (left) trained with the Dynamo first team last summer. (Houston Dynamo)

The combine will take place at the Outdoor Education Campus of the Presbyterian School, located at Reed Road and Highway 288.

Combine Schedule

• Saturday, January 24, 2009
  

  10:00 a.m. – Academy Srs. vs. Academy Jrs.

  11:45 a.m. – Academy Sophs vs. South Texas Academy

  1:30 p.m. – Lunch

  3:30 p.m. – Academy Sophs vs. Academy Jrs.

  5:15 p.m. – Academy Srs. vs. South Texas Academy

• Sunday, January 25, 2009
  

  9:00 a.m. – Academy Srs. vs. Academy Sophs

  9:00 a.m. – Academy Jrs. vs. South Texas Academy

For more information or to register, contact Dynamo Director of Youth Development James Clarkson at (713) 276-7516 or jclarkson@houstondynamo.com.

Benefits for college coaches

• Ability to evaluate youth players in high-level competition
• All players in the Dynamo Academy program have been identified by the Dynamo staff as showing potential to be a professional soccer player. Players must try out to be invited to participate and are released if their performance does not improve.
• Many of these players play for club teams that do not attend highly visible youth tournaments. This combine is an opportunity to see high-level high school players that may be overlooked in the traditional recruiting process.
• Players are ages 15-17, so this is a chance to see current high school seniors and potential recruits who are freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.
• All players train in a professional environment that uniquely prepares them for the college game.
• Academy players have trained on a regular basis with the Dynamo first team.

"I have been more than impressed with the Houston Dynamo Academy for many reasons. The way the players are being trained on and off the field is organized and meaningful. The players attend the Academy to become better players technically, tactically, and physically. The hands on instruction the players receive from Academy Director James Clarkson and his staff is professional, demanding and sincere. One visit to the Academy and you can easily see the players have a great opportunity to become future professional soccer players."

-- Dominic Kinnear, Houston Dynamo head coach, two-time MLS Cup champion